The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship confirmed that the process of issuing permits for returning residents residing abroad to the state is taking place gradually, and within specific controls and requirements to enter the state, in light of the current health conditions and for their safety.
In its response to readers' inquiries, the commission said, through its accounts on social media, about the reason for rejecting their requests submitted to return to the UAE during the past period, that "the requests were rejected now because the conditions were not met."
She stated that there is a specialized committee that considers the requests of all residents who are outside the country and who wish to return to the Emirates, and is responding to them, noting that the return is linked to the development of the current conditions and the air traffic, confirming the continuation of the return of residents who are abroad to the state since the beginning of this June.
The authority indicated that the procedures followed to obtain approval to return to the state require individuals to register for the service of "resident entry permit" on the website of the commission (Smartservice.ica.gov.ae), and all submitted requests will be answered within 48 hours, and the individual will be able after obtaining On approval of completing the procedures for reserving the return ticket on the national carriers or other airlines that fly to the country, based on the e-mail received by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
The commission agreed to return approximately 31,000 residents during the period from March 25 to June 8, where it gave priority to humanitarian cases and relatives, noting that this comes as part of an initiative to return residents from those with valid residency residing outside the state targeting the return of approximately 200 thousand A person, in coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
The UAE government has issued several important decisions for residents since the Corona pandemic, considering that the residence of expatriates, whether they are inside or outside the country, is valid until the end of December of this year, when it ends its end date after the first of March 2020, which enables residing persons present Outside the country and they have expired residencies, after the date of the first of last March, from returning to the state until the end of the year.
It also decided to consider visas and entry permits for those in the country in force until the end of December of this year, when it happens to expire after the first of March 2020.
All ID cards ending on March 1 of this year were considered valid until the end of December 2020.
The authority emphasized that obtaining a return permit through it is mandatory before reserving return tickets to the UAE, and those who wish to return can submit an electronic request on the service of "issuing an entry permit for residents outside the state" and obtain it first, and the following requirements must be met: a color photo, and a copy of Residence, and a copy of a valid passport, and proof of the visit abroad. Evidence can be a letter from the employer, educational institution, medical authority, or airline tickets if the reason is tourism.
The commission confirmed that (Covid-19) checks will be taken for arrivals upon their arrival in the state’s lands, and obliging them to house or institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days with costs incurred if any, in addition to the necessity to use one of the approved special applications to track the health status in order to preserve their safety and the safety of society. The focus of the process of returning foreign nationals to the state during the current stage will be on residents of families, which represents 50% of the total stage, cases that are primarily related to the issue of family reunification residing in the state.